Rolder, Bredeson, Benny Drafted on Final Day of 2026 NFL Draft

• Michigan Football NFL Draft Central

PITTSBURGH, Pa. -- The University of Michigan football program had three players selected on Saturday (April 25), the third and final day of the 2026 NFL Draft held on the North Shore near Acrisure Stadium. The Wolverines finished with six overall draft picks during the three-day selection meetings.

Linebacker Jimmy Rolder was a fourth-round pick (118th overall) by the Detroit Lions, tight end/fullback Max Bredeson was chosen in the fifth round (159th overall) by the Minnesota Vikings and defensive tackle Rayshaun Benny was a seventh-round pick (250th overall) by the Baltimore Ravens.

Rolder joined teammate Derrick Moore, a second-round pick, as a member of the Lions' draft class this season. It is the first time the Lions drafted a pair of Wolverines since selecting offensive lineman Graham Glasgow (third round) and quarterback Jake Rudock (sixth round) in the 2016 selection meetings.

Rolder turned in a stellar performance as a senior, leading the team in tackles with a career-high 73 stops, while contributing 7.0 tackles for loss, 2.0 sacks, one fumble recovery and one interception. He played in 12 games and started in 11 contests at linebacker. Rolder was named a Butkus Award semifinalist in 2025, earned second-team All-Big Ten honors and was selected as the team's Roger Zatkoff Award winner as the top linebacker. Rolder appeared in 42 career games and played linebacker in 36 contests, recording 118 tackles, 9.0 tackles for loss, 2.0 sacks, one fumble recovery, one interception and one pass breakup.

The Minnesota Vikings selected Bredeson with the 159th overall pick of the draft. A fifth-round selection, Bredeson joins former teammate J.J. McCarthy on the Vikings' offense, as well as former Wolverine safety Josh Metellus and linebacker Josh Ross.

Bredeson was a two-time captain and five-year letterman for the Wolverines (2024-25). He played in 54 career games at tight end, fullback and on special teams, tying for the eighth-most appearances in school history. Bredeson caught 12 passes for 132 yards in his career with a 56-yard career-long reception against Hawaii in 2022. An All-Big Ten third-team selection in 2025, Bredeson started six games and played in 11 contests, and was on the field for 27 of Michigan's 33 rushing touchdowns. He was voted by his teammates as the recipient of the Blue Collar Award and the Toughest Player of the Year Award while also receiving the Robert P. Ufer Bequest as the senior who displayed the most enthusiasm and love for Michigan.

The Ravens selected Benny with the 250th pick in the seventh round. He is reunited with former defensive coordinator Jesse Minter, the first-year head coach in Baltimore, and his position coach with the Wolverines, Lou Esposito. The Ravens roster includes his former teammate at Michigan, wide receiver Cornelius Johnson.

Benny played in 54 games along the defensive line, tying for the eighth-most appearances in the maize and blue. Benny started 16 games at defensive tackle, including all 13 as a fifth-year senior in 2025. He registered 107 career tackles, including 12.0 tackles for loss, 4.0 sacks, six pass breakups, one fumble recovery and forced one fumble. A 2025 third-team All-Big Ten selection, Benny amassed a career-best 35 stops, 3.0 TFLs, 1.5 sacks and two pass breakups. He won the Woodley-Graham Award as the team's top defensive lineman this past season.

Remaining draft-eligible members of the Michigan football program can sign free-agent contracts with NFL teams.

Notes

• With the selections of Moore and Rolder, the Lions have drafted multiple Wolverine players on seven occasions (1944, 1947, 1948, 1962, 1975, 2016 and 2026). The record is four U-M players chosen by the organization during the 1947 and 1994 drafts.

• Max Bredeson joined his brother, Ben, as an NFL Draft pick. Ben was selected in the fourth round of the 2019 draft by the Baltimore Ravens (143rd pick) and is currently a starter with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The last set of brothers to be drafted were the Glasgows: Graham (2016, 3rd, Lions), Ryan (2017, 4th, Bengals) and Jordan (2020, 6th, Colts).

• With six draft picks this year, a total of 427 Michigan players have been chosen all-time in the NFL Draft.